The Addy Strikes Back

Microsite Design & Development

Project Overview

The Saga Continues. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…

Well, really, it was only a few months ago, on planet Earth…in Knoxville, TN, but that’s beside the point. In connection with the series’ newest film release in December 2015, our company was thrilled to hear that the 2016 Addy Awards was Star Wars themed (we may have had something to do with that). With a team of full-fledged Star Wars fanatics at the helm, we began working on a site for the Addy’s that would, first and foremost, provide users with the information necessary to submit their work to the awards competition and support the content of the AAF Knoxville website.

About the Microsite

Microsite Features

Online/Interactive | Websites | 37A – Consumer

Fundamentally, we wanted users to have a positive experience on the microsite, with easy-to-use functionality, as well as an intuitive design and navigation. Moreover, we wanted the 2016 Addy’s microsite to embody the creative spirit of excellence that the American Advertising Awards and the American Advertising Federation promotes.

Aside from our goal of creating a positive user experience and functionality for the site, we had a lot of fun with the design. For the microsite, our team designed each page to represent a different planet from the movies, each complete with custom images to tie in with the corresponding page and help relay any necessary information. As you journey through the microsite, you journey through the galaxy, from the scorching deserts of Tatooine to the forest moon of Endor to the frozen ice planet of Hoth to the Death Star. In addition, we used popular, recognizable language from the movies on each page in order to keep users engaged and add a fun, unique element to the microsite. The font used on the site was specifically picked to imitate the famous Star Wars font, without infringing on copyright laws and in the correct hexcode shade of yellow.

We kept the main navigation on the site simple, and added additional, vertical navigation on pages where multiple sections were needed for easy access to information. Although we realized that most users would enter their work on a desktop computer, we are committed to making every site we create responsive and optimized for mobile use. It is because of this commitment that the mobile version of the microsite does not have the moving stars background – for it would make the site too busy and difficult to use on a phone or tablet. It was a conscious choice and one we made to ensure quick loading on a mobile device – free from distractions.

The saga of the American Advertising Awards continues in February 2016 as the Addy strikes back against dull, boring advertising.

Responsive layout

Star Wars inspired font and colors

Different backgrounds based on Star Wars planets and locations

Video background (on desktop)

Animated elements which activate as you scroll

Simple, clean blocks of text and content

Multiple contact points to the AAF submissions, AAF Knoxville social media and website